Roy: Recreation can help shape Alexandria's identity

Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy gives his closing remarks at the city’s Recreation Summit on Saturday. Behind him are maps that were created based on suggestions from members of the public concerning possibilities for Bringhurst Field and other Masonic Drive recreation facilities.(Photo: Richard Sharkey/rsharkey@thetowntalk.com)

Improving recreation in Alexandria may go beyond providing more things to do and more ways to attract visitors. It may give the city an identity.

Mayor Jacques Roy said the city has always struggled to create a specific identity, but upgraded recreational facilities and programs could become the city's calling card, and that could combine with its location in the heart of Louisiana to boost the city's profile, as well as improving the quality of life.

"Really a big part of our identity should be about recreation and the opportunities that are presented because of our central location," Roy said.

"People have struggled for years to decide what it is that makes this area so unique, and it's our location in the state. Literally, all roads connect here. We have an opportunity to once again, if the Coliseum is in the right stature, if our downtown hotel and convention center is in the right stature and if our ball fields and infrastructure in recreation are in the right stature, we can compete with anyone in the state, and really we would become a regional powerhouse," he said.

Roy spoke Saturday as the three-day Recreation Summit wrapped up in the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center.

"We should be known as a community that has lots to do and is great for families who are either visiting or who live here," Roy said.

"It's very clear that the quality of life you can enjoy here with the rurality that surrounds the urbanized areas of Alexandria and Pineville is something that we should capitalize on, and I think that parks and recreation is it," Roy said.

Roy and Community Services Director Daniel Williams said the summit was successful at providing new ideas for the city recreation planning and giving citizens an opportunity to weigh in on recreation needs.

"The speakers have been exceptional. They're top-of-the-line speakers. They've exceeded my expectations, and I had very high expectations," Williams said.

"The crowd has been very, very involved. They've been vocal. It makes me feel good that the citizens of Alexandria care this much about the quality of life in their city."

The city is planning for new recreation programs and facilities thanks to voters' passage in May of a 6-mill tax that provides $1.1 million a year for recreation and a like amount for the Alexandria Zoo.

Attendance wasn't what city officials had hoped for. The opening session on Thursday drew about 50 to 60 people, and generally only about 40 people were on hand at most of the sessions. About 50 people were on hand Saturday, and they took an active role in discussing the future of Bringhurst Field.

Williams said he would have liked to have seen larger crowds, but the information learned at the summit and the participation of those who did attend made the event well worthwhile.

The city is expected to put videos of the summit speakers' presentations on its website, www.cityofalexandriala.com.

The summit gave people "an opportunity to trade ideas with each other," Roy said. The summit not only provided new ideas for the staff, he said, it also showed them that they were already on the right track in many areas.

The speakers at the summit were "the top rec people in the country here … and they were excited about our city," the mayor said.

Roy reminded that 65 percent of the recreation tax revenue will go to programming, operations and maintenance while 35 percent is for capital improvements.

Data and ideas from the Recreation Summit will be compiled by Lose & Associates, the Nashville-based firm which created the city's master plan for recreation in 2009. Chris Camp of Lose & Associates moderated the summit.

Williams said the city still wants the public to provide their suggestions on recreation.

"Over the next 30 days, I would encourage people to reach out to us if there is information they want to receive … and to stay involved," he said.

"I'm excited with expectations of what we are going to do for the next 10 to 20 years" in recreation, Williams said.